Hydraulically-operated ships&#39; hatch covers



April 25, 1961 J. Ma GREGOR 2,981,326

HYDRAULICALLY-OPERATED SHIPS HATCH COVERS Filed Aug. 11, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 April 25, 1961 J, MaCGREGOR HYDRAULICALLY-OPERATED SHIPSHATCH COVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11, 1959 United States PatentHYDRAU'LICALLY-OPERATED SHIPS HATCH COVERS .loseph MacGregor,Monlrseaton, Whitley Bay, England, assignor to MacGregor 8: Company(Naval Arcitects) Limited and MacGregor-Comarain Filed Aug. 11, 1959,Ser. No. 832,930

Claims priority, application Great Britain Sept. 23, 1958 1 Claim. (Cl.160-188) This invention has reference to a control device for shipshatch covers and the like, principally of the kind employing a pluralityof metal sections, coplanar in the closed position, at least one of theend sections being hinged athwartships to the deck or coaming. All ofthe sections comprising the cover are hingedly interconnected. Thestowing of the sections is brought about by the use of hydrauliccylinders and rams secured to and movable with a section. One cylinderand ram is provided for each pair of adjacent sections. The thrust ofthe rams is applied at or about the hinged joint of the adjacent sectionto cause the joint to break upwards in inverted V fashion until thetrailing end of the said adjacent section closes on to the sectionhousing the cylinders, both sections then standing in substantially avertical position close together in the stowed position. The sectionsmay be provided with wheels at appropriate points on their fore-and-aftsides to run along the edges of the hatchway at the deck or coaming. Thedescription kind described used herein refers to hatch-coverconstructions of the aforesaid general kind.

Hitherto it has been the practice to employ a pair of co-operatingopposed hydraulic cylinders and rams at the said hinged joints, one ineach hatch section applying its thrust against the opposite section. Inother plants, use is made of but a single cylinder and ram for actuatinga pair of sections, the said cylinder and ram being connected bysuitable links to the adjacent section.

The primary object of the present invention is to enable an hydraulicoperation of ships hatch covers or the like to be performed through themedium of a single cylinder and ram at each point where the hydraulicpower is applied, and to provide means whereby the operation is executedin a smooth and secure way. Usually there is a pair of the saidhydraulic power points located at port and starboard of each of thethwartship hinging connections forming the breaking joint betweenadjacent hatch sections, but on some comparatively narrow hatches theremay be a single point on the centre line of the breaking joint.

The controlling device according to this invention is of the typecomprising at least one electrically, mechanically or hydraulicallyactuated control member incorporated and pivoted in at least one of thepanels acting on a link member which latter is hingedly connected toboth said panels and constitutes the hinge connection therebetween,characterized in that interrneshing gear elements are carried by theadjacent ends of said panels to ensure a smooth and regular guidedfolding and unfolding thereof.

According to another feature of the invention, the centers of the saidgear elements or of their toothed portions coincide with the respectivehinges or pivots connecting said link members and panels.

An embodiment of the invention will be described by way of example withthe aid of the accompanying drawings in which: I

Patented Apr. 25, 1961 Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan of a six-sectionhatch cover, the lower half (from the longitudinal center line) beingomitted;

Figure 2 shows, also diagrammatically, a section on the line 11-11 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view representing a longitu-' dinal sectionthrough the hatch cover at one of the coggear and ram locations alongthe hinging joint between a pair of sections; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but with the joint broken upwardsshowing the parts in the position assumed when the cover is stowed.

Like numerals of reference indicate the same or corresponding partsthroughout all the views.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the whole cover is made up of six separatecover sections numbered 1 to 6 respectively which, in the closedposition, are disposed in coplanar relationship (see Figure 2) restingon the deck or on-a coaming to cover the hatchway. They are in pairs1-2, 3-4 and 5-6, the respective sections of which are hinged togetheron the lines 9 by the cog-gear arrangement hereinafter described, andthe end sections 1 and 6 are hinged to the deck (or coaming) asindicated at 7. The sections 4 and 5 are connected together by a pair ofdrag-links one of which is shown at 8, Figure 1, whereby when the pair5-6 are being stowed they pull along the pair 3-4 for stowing insuccession.

When stowing the pair 5-6 move upward in inverted V fashion under thehydraulic means described later herein, section 6 hinging at 7, untilthe trailing end of the adjacent section 5 closes on to section 6, bothsections then standing in substantially a vertical plane closed togetheras depicted in broken lines in Figure 2. Section 4 is simultaneouslydragged along and with its paired section 3 also breaks upward underhydraulic power in inverted V fashion to be similarly stowed. The pairof sections 1-2 are stowed at the other end of the hatchway operatingsimilarly to the pair 5-6, but in the example these sections have notrailing sections comparable with 3-4.

At each of the joints between the sections of each pair there is thefollowing cog-gear hinging and hydraulic arrangements for causing thepairs to move into the inverted V disposition as described.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, each section, at the hinging line 9between sections, is provided with a cog gear in the form of a plate 10disposed in a vertical plane secured in the angle between a cross web 15and an overhanging extension 11 of the top plating of the section. Eachof these plates has a cogged arcuate edge 12 and the cogs of the pairsof plates mesh with one another. The hinge is completed by a pivotedlink 13 connecting the centers 14 of the cog gears, i.e., in the exampleconnecting the centers of the arcuate portions of the cogged plates.

The pivoted link 13 is an approximately triangular plate with twocorners thereof pivotally connected respectively to the two cog gearcentres and the remaining corner 16 constituting a thrust extension andprojecting upwards and towards the section which houses the hydrauliccylinder and ram now to be described.

Underneath the top plating of the section towards which the thrustextension 16 projects (i.e. 4, 6 or 1 in the example illustrated) thereis mounted a hydraulic cylinder 17 which is pivoted by one end 18 to across web 19 of the section which forms one end of a piston box 20. Thisbox has a base 21 and the top plating of the cover section may beprovided with a detachable cover plate at this piston box to give accessto the hydraulic piston with its ram and hydraulic supply pipes whichare introduced into the piston box in any convenmeme ient manner. Theram 22 of the hydraulic cylinder 17 is pivoted to the thrust extension16 of the link 13.

It will be understood that while the hydraulic arrangements are shownright-handed in Figures 3 and 4, i.e., on the right of the cog-gear (asapplying to the joints 9 of the section pairs 3- 4 and 5-6), they willbe lefthanded as applied to the joint 9 of the'section pair 1 and 2, butobviously it is not essential for the ram to face in any particulardirection, in other Words, the hydraulic devices may be disposed ineither of the co-operating sections at the joints 9 and the thrustextension 16 directed accordingly. 7

In operation, when the ram 22 is forced out it imposes a leverage on thethrust extension 16 and causes the joint 9 to break upwards; thecog-gear 10, 12 rolls around the cogs and the pair of sections assumefirst and inverted shallow. V forrn,then a more acute V until bothsections are substantially vertical and first against each other and inbroken lines in Figure 2. This position of the parts of the joint isshown in Figure 4.

For strength, the cog-gear plates may be duplicated, one each side ofthe link 13.

Hydraulic power may be applied simultaneously to all of the hydraulicpower points (and necessarily so to those located on a single breakingpoint 9), but it is advantageous to delay the power to the points ontrailing pairs of sections. As an instance, in the present example, thetrailing pair 3-4 may first be raised to an angle of to the horizontalwith the towing pair 5-6, and held by interlock mechanism. The towingpair 5-6 then continue to raise themselves to the vertical, whereuponthe trailing pair then finally complete their movement to the vertical.1

It is obvious that without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, instead of using hydraulically operated cylinders and rams,use can be made of electrically, or mechanically actuated jacks.

What I claim is:

Hatch cover arrangement on board ships, railway wagons and the likecomprising at least two hatch cover sections having two adjacentlylocated edges, a free space between the adjacent edges of said sections,protruding extensions fixedly provided on the adjacent edges of saidsections facing each other and extending into said space, circularpractically identical toothed edge portions on said extensions in mutualcontinuous meshing engagement, the centers of the circles correspondingto said circular edge portions being situated on said respectiveextensions, pivot pins located on said extensions centrally with respectto said toothed edge portions, a connecting link forming memberpivotally mounted on said two pivots, an arm forming extension on saidlink member and jack means with a jack rod pivotally mounted on one ofsaid sections and having its jack rod pivotally connected to said armforming extension to bring said section in the hatch closing and thehatch opening positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 55,607France Sept. 2, 1 952 Notice of Adverse Decision in Interference InInterference No. 93,198 involving Patent No. 2,981,326, J. MacGregor,HYDRAULIGALLY-OPERATED SHIPS HATCH COVERS, final judgment adverse to thepatentee Was rendered June 10, 1965, as to claim 1.

[Ofiiez'al Gazette December 14, 1965.]

